Howe Interact Club builds bears for local children

Wednesday

Dec 6, 2017 at 12:01 AMDec 6, 2017 at 3:04 PM

By Rhea Bermel, Herald Democrat

A Howe High School club project hopes to brighten the lives of children in need this holiday season.

The Interact Club at Howe High School brought 100 stuffed bears to the state Health and Human Services office in Sherman on Tuesday. The club sewed and stuffed each bear for children in need that visit the office.

Clerk Amy Willits said Health and Human Services staff were thrilled to receive the bears and are looking forward to giving them out to the children that come through the office.

The Howe Interact Club was created this fall by senior Connor Jackson to help give back to the community. Jackson explained this is one of two large community service projects that will be conducted by the club this year.

“My family had bought a lot of build-your-own-bears at a local auction,” Jackson said. “I offered up the idea of giving the bears to kids who weren’t going to be privileged enough to get a nice Christmas gift. The other officers and members loved the idea of giving bears to kids in need.”

Thirteen club members and the seven officers recently gathered at the high school to watch Christmas movies, stuff and sew each of the bears. The process took around three hours to complete all 100 bears and Jackson said the club hopes the bears will brighten the holiday season for children in need.

The inspiration for the Howe Interact Club came after Jackson attended a camp through a scholarship opportunity with the Rotary Club. The Interact Club is a service organization based around leadership and community service.

“After I came back from camp, I was inspired to do more for our community,” Jackson said. “I want to make a change not only in myself but in everyone around me. The world is not a nice place but with like-minded people, we can make a change.”

With the help of the Rotary Club and the Howe Independent School District, Jackson was able to create Howe Interact for upcoming seniors and juniors. He went on to say the club is intended for ages 12 to 18. Jackson hopes the officers in years to come will push for middle school participants.

“I think that as long as you have the passion to make a difference you shouldn’t worry about being cool doing it,” Jackson said. “If you think it’s a personal mission of yours to see positive change then you should make your own Interact Club and just look for places that need help. Get out of your comfort zone and do it.”

The club’s next project will be local but bring light to a national issue, Jackson said, explaining it could be along the lines of AIDS awareness.